Dear Colleagues,
While I hope that you all have been enjoying a little slow down during this summer, I want you to know that the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) never sleeps! SITC’s membership has for the first time exceeded 2,000 members, and we are working to ensure our members’ voice is heard by policymakers in our nation’s capital throughout the year. During the past months, SITC has increased its efforts in the policy and advocacy realm. We have added staff dedicated to managing these complex interactions and continued to work with the consulting firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC, to support our viewpoints in Washington, D.C.
Recently, the SITC Board of Directors helped to define and expand the efforts of our society’s Policy and Advocacy Committee by adding three subcommittees. These subcommittees will conduct work and report on three distinct areas of the field: science and research, regulatory and quality.
This group has made great progress on a number of issues in the past year, including:
SITC also continues to strengthen relationships with partnering organizations.
SITC is pleased to partner with Friends of Cancer Research (FOCR) to address critical issues regarding the value of immunotherapy and immuno-oncology agents. Through this collaboration, SITC and FOCR will review current value models and provide guidance on redefining value frameworks for the unique aspects of cancer immunotherapy. This effort will ensure patients and healthcare professionals have the appropriate information to make informed treatment decisions and have access to high-quality treatment options.
SITC is working with the FDA to provide education to employees on critical aspects of cancer immunotherapy research while also collaborating strategically to positively affect the future of the field. We met with FDA leaders July 18 to discuss several initiatives of common interest and will return to the FDA campus on Sept. 17 to give FDA OCE Rounds. These visits will be regular events going forward to keep our interactions effective and timely.
Cancer immunotherapy has to evolve on all fronts to have the optimal impact on patients. The work of SITC’s policy committee and our FDA collaborations will address important aspects of the field that compliment all of the work you are all doing in your labs, clinics and offices.
Sincerely,
Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President
While I hope that you all have been enjoying a little slow down during this summer, I want you to know that the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) never sleeps! SITC’s membership has for the first time exceeded 2,000 members, and we are working to ensure our members’ voice is heard by policymakers in our nation’s capital throughout the year. During the past months, SITC has increased its efforts in the policy and advocacy realm. We have added staff dedicated to managing these complex interactions and continued to work with the consulting firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC, to support our viewpoints in Washington, D.C.
Recently, the SITC Board of Directors helped to define and expand the efforts of our society’s Policy and Advocacy Committee by adding three subcommittees. These subcommittees will conduct work and report on three distinct areas of the field: science and research, regulatory and quality.
This group has made great progress on a number of issues in the past year, including:
- Successfully advocating for an increase in funding for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) in Fiscal Year 2019 (from $15 million to $20 million)
- SITC-proposed language accepted verbatim in a pair of reports to advocate on behalf of our members and apprise decision makers of field expert opinions on critical issues affecting all aspects of the cancer immunotherapy field, including:
- An FDA report on the need to develop standardized templates for reporting toxicities in cancer immunotherapy clinical trials (view SITC language, accepted in May 2018, here)
- A National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) report on the need to prioritize research and education on the underlying mechanisms of cancer immunotherapy toxicities and training for young and mid-career investigators (view SITC language, accepted in June 2018, here)
- A July 2017 response letter to the Congress Healthcare Innovative Caucus (request for comment here) regarding value-based provider payment reform
- A June 2018 response letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the National Coverage Analysis for CAR T therapies
SITC also continues to strengthen relationships with partnering organizations.
SITC is pleased to partner with Friends of Cancer Research (FOCR) to address critical issues regarding the value of immunotherapy and immuno-oncology agents. Through this collaboration, SITC and FOCR will review current value models and provide guidance on redefining value frameworks for the unique aspects of cancer immunotherapy. This effort will ensure patients and healthcare professionals have the appropriate information to make informed treatment decisions and have access to high-quality treatment options.
SITC is working with the FDA to provide education to employees on critical aspects of cancer immunotherapy research while also collaborating strategically to positively affect the future of the field. We met with FDA leaders July 18 to discuss several initiatives of common interest and will return to the FDA campus on Sept. 17 to give FDA OCE Rounds. These visits will be regular events going forward to keep our interactions effective and timely.
Cancer immunotherapy has to evolve on all fronts to have the optimal impact on patients. The work of SITC’s policy committee and our FDA collaborations will address important aspects of the field that compliment all of the work you are all doing in your labs, clinics and offices.
Sincerely,
Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President
